In this new world that she’ll inherit from us, one of economic crisis, capitalist disaster, rampant consumerism, environmental destruction and climate change and jobs that are no longer for life, there are lots of unknowns to face up to and a lot of skills she and countless other children like her will have to learn.
But what are they and what can we as parents choose to teach our children to put them in good stead for the future? Apart from a solid, varied and cultured general schooling in maths, sciences and the humanities, and of course computing and technology, in this globalised world she’ll need languages, and the more the better – both for communication purposes but also for culture, as speaking a language gives you a window on a nation or people’s way of life and thought that you could not have otherwise. And that knowledge brings advantages.
With billions of Chinese on the planet does that mean she should speak Mandarin? Or why not Spanish? Or for that matter Hindi? I think I’ll leave that up to her when she’s old enough to decide, but there’s no doubt having any such language will put tomorrow’s children in a good position to work across a number of fields and in a number of countries.
However, ultimately, to get on in the world our children need what we as humans have always needed – common sense, a keen mind, ambition, talent, experience and perhaps most important of all, strong social skills.
Being popular, or at least being likable and having friends, plays a huge part in being able to create good working relationships and be successful, so thinking about confidence-building when they’re young is crucial.
It’s also important to be able to see the big picture, and come at projects whatever they may be, from all angles. In terms of succeeding at specific projects, I’ve always found that whatever you do, focussing on it and putting all your ability into it almost single-mindedly, brings results. That’s not to say that you should do just one thing in your life, but just do things one at a time. It’s when you try to do many things at once that you’re most likely to fail.
So as a parent, for me it’s a child’s upbringing as much as the vocational or academic skills they might learn in school and later on, that’s the key to giving them a chance at success in the world.
A happy family and home life will reap rewards when the child is grown, breeding confidence by giving them a solid foundation upon which to build. So for example, teaching them about healthy eating and avoiding the bad food and bad eating habits that have created the obesity epidemic on our planet today would be a worthwhile gift.
Teach them to understand that fashion and consumerism – wanting the latest clothes, TVs and cars – cannot be the main priority in life. Teach them to think independently and make decisions based on knowledge or research rather than following the general consensus or acting too impulsively. Teach them that the majority of organised religions, in all forms, are illogical and irrational and won’t do them any good, and that keeping an open mind is wise.
In my case much of my success has come from taking nothing for granted and questioning absolutely everything, a philosophy formed from a very young age and that is something that children of the future will need more than anything when governments try to dictate all our decisions and police our lives. Rules which represent the loss of freedom and independence rather than which are sensible cannot be tolerated if one wants to succeed.
We may be, globally, in the toughest economic climate seen for generations, but that doesn’t mean that people, especially our kids, should put their dreams on hold and wait for buoyant times to come around the corner. Intuitiveness, freethinking and adaptability will set anyone on a path to success in whatever they choose to do. I hope and intend to give her all of these.
